The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 24 September 2008
by Fosco Maraini
If you read enough books about Tibet from the first half of the 20th century, a pattern becomes evident. We read about lone adventurers trekking into a "forbidden" land, encountering a people leery of outsiders, and steeped in the myths of Shangri-la. We read often of the crafty ways in which these visitors insinuate themselves onto the Roof of the World, and of an overall imperialistic and condescending tone to their understanding of Tibetan culture. There are, of course, notable exceptions. This book, published in 1950, just as the Chinese were using their armies to assert their claim over the Tibetan nation, is one of the last peeks into Tibet before the invasion (which, of course, was followed by an influx of Chinese, the Cultural Revolution, and a cultural subjugation that continues to this day).
Fosco Maraini was a scholar and photographer who traveled into Tibet on two occasions with Italian Tibetan expert Guiseppi Tucci. This book weaves a travelers' tale from those two trips, both taken in the late 1940s. Early travelers have focused on the secrets of this exotic land, the insularity of its culture and religion, the remote fastness of the Himalayan plateau. The "secret" in the title of this book, though, is Maraini's encounter with a genuine, down-to-earth Tibetan culture. He looks beyond (or beneath) the myths and just tries to convey something of the everyday lives of the people he encountered on a trip that, admittedly, didn't penetrate very far into the country (making it up the road from Sikkim as far as Gyantse). Maraini and Tucci set out on their expedtion from Italy, sailing to India and taking a train across the sub-continent before heading north through Sikkim and into southern Tibet. In one journey, Maraini is allowed as far as Gyantse. In another, he doesn't get far within the country at all. He is not specific on the barriers he encounters. Instead, he spends the book talking about the people he meets on the journey, from the maharajah of Sikkim and his lovely daughter, to humble nomads in a remote Himalayan valley on the road to Lhasa (which he never reaches). Along the way, he describes, in remarkably clear language, the outlines of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibet's history, and some of its relations to the outside world. The book is beautifully written and refreshingly free of some of the cultural prejudices so common in European attitude toward Tibet (and, indeed, all of Asia) in that time. Maraini is very modern and progressive in his outlook. He acknowledges the problems of romantic cultural pre-conceptions, as well as the ambiguity of Tibet's political status. His writing is sensitive and often insightful and moving. It is an incomplete picture, but one that remains fresh and vibrant despite the seven decades that have passed since the author's journey.